"Rebel Rebel" is a song by English singer-songwriter

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. It was released in the UK in February 1974 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album ''

Diamond Dogs ''Diamond Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 24 May 1974 through RCA Records. Bowie produced the album and recorded it in early 1974 at Olympic and Island Studios in London and Ludolph Studios i ...

''. Written and produced by Bowie, the song is based around a distinctive guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

reminiscent of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

. Cited as his most-covered track, "Rebel Rebel" has been described as Bowie's farewell to the

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

movement that he had helped initiate, as well as being a

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

track. Two versions of the song were recorded: the well-known UK single release and the shorter US single release, which featured added background vocals, extra percussion and a new arrangement. Upon its release, the song was a commercial success, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 64 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The song received critical acclaim for its central guitar riff and strength as a glam anthem. Several publications consider it to be one of Bowie's greatest songs. It was performed live by Bowie during many of his concert tours and since appeared on many compilation albums. It was remastered in 2016 as part of the ''

Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976) ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 23 September 2016, focused on the artist's "American Phase". A follow-up to the 2015 compilation ''Five Years (1969–1973)'', ''Who Can I B ...

'' box set.

Background

Originally planned in late 1973 as part of an aborted '' Ziggy Stardust'' musical, "Rebel Rebel" was Bowie's last single in his signature

style.Mat Snow (2007). "Hang on to Yourself", ''

MOJO Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

60 Years of Bowie'': p.51 It was also his first hit since 1969 not to feature lead guitarist

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

; Bowie played guitar himself on this and almost all the other tracks on ''

'', producing what ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' critics

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Blackpoo ...

and

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the '' New Musical Express'' and many other magazines and newspapers, and has been interviewed for a number of ...

called "a rocking dirty noise that owed as much to

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

as it did to the departed Ronno". Singer-songwriter

Jayne County Wayne Rogers (born July 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned six decades. Under the name Wayne County (inspired by Wayne County, Michigan), ...

, who was a cast member of ''Pork'' and among Bowie's entourage for two years, maintains that her 1973 song "Queenage Baby", which included the lyric "can't tell whether she's a boy or a girl", was an influence for "Rebel Rebel".

Recording and composition

Recording for "Rebel Rebel" began at a solo session at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

in London following Christmas 1973. It would be Bowie's last known visit to Trident, his principal recording studio since 1968. The recording was subsequently completed the following month in January 1974 at Ludolph Studios in

Nederhorst den Berg Nederhorst den Berg () is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It lies about 8 km northwest of Hilversum in the Vechtstreek area, near the Vecht river. Until 1 January 2002, it was a separate municipality; it is now part ...

, Netherlands. In the studio, Bowie informed bassist

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...

and guest guitarist

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

that he wanted it to "sound like the

Stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

", before he picked up Parker's black

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

and played it to them. Parker then completed it, before the rest of the backing track was recorded. According to biographer

Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''The New York Times' ...

, the lyrics of "Rebel Rebel" revisit familiar Bowie territory, featuring "a 'hot' young 'tramp' worrying his or her parents with his or her sexy nihilism", are reflected by the line "You got a few lines and a handful of 'ludes'." Even though the world is ending, the "Rebel" doesn't care, suggesting "we like dancing and we look divine." It also features gender-bending lyrics ("You got your mother in a whirl / She's not sure if you're a boy or a girl"). According to author

Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor t ...

, in the context of ''Diamond Dogs'', the song serves as a "musical continuation" between the " Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)" medley: it begins with a D to E chord change that was prefigured with a bass guitar slide that constructed the medley's final "chaotic" moments. The song's distinctive guitar riff is described by rock journalist

Kris Needs Kris Needs (born 3 July 1954) is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. He became editor of proto-punk and early punk rock ''ZigZag'' magazine in August 1977 at 23 and has since written biographies ...

as "a classic stick-in-the-head like the Stones' ' Satisfaction'". The riff's chords are D, E, and A and were created by Bowie and enhanced by Parker, who, according to Doggett, added the "downward trail" at the end of each line. Paul Trynka writes that Parker added "a particular chord shape rather than the original single note just before the chord change and a distinctive 'beeeoonng' in the last line of the chorus just as

owie An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, ...

sings 'I love you so'." Bowie later said, "It's a fabulous riff! Just fabulous! When I stumbled onto it, it was 'Oh, thank you!" Parker later said Bowie came up with the Stones-like riff to "piss off"

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

. Parker was upset upon learning he was uncredited on the final version. He stated: "I can tell my own playing, and my own sound, and I know it's me." Flowers further recalled: "David played the riff to Alan, Alan made sure it was good enough to record, then lanplayed it." Although O'Leary compliments the riff, he notes that with Ronson's absence, it gets "run into the ground"; throughout the song's over four-minute runtime, the riff is solely absent in the two bridges and the "hot tramp" lines.

Release

"Rebel Rebel" was released on 15 February 1974 in the UK by

(as LPB05009) as the lead single of ''Diamond Dogs'' with the ''Hunky Dory'' song "

Queen Bitch "Queen Bitch" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released on his 1971 album ''Hunky Dory'' before appearing as the B-side of the single "Rebel Rebel" in the United Kingdom in early 1974. The song was inspired by ...

" as the B-side. The B-side, according to Spitz, was selected by RCA to provide the label with some "much needed fiscal plasma". The single quickly became a glam anthem, the female equivalent of Bowie's earlier hit for

Mott the Hoople Mott the Hoople were an English rock band formed in Herefordshire. Originally known as the Doc Thomas Group, the group changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums throughout the early 1970s but fail ...

, "

All the Young Dudes "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to ...

". It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 64 on the US ''

. The original UK single version had a slightly different mix than the album version; the album mix was the only mix to appear on compilation albums, until the single mix appeared on ''Re:Call 2'', as part of the 2016 box set ''

''. The UK single mix was again remastered in 2019 and released on digital media streaming services.

US single

"Rebel Rebel" was released as a single with a different mix in the US and Mexico in May 1974, with "

Lady Grinning Soul "Lady Grinning Soul" is a ballad written by English musician David Bowie, released on the album ''Aladdin Sane'' in 1973. It was a last-minute addition, replacing the "sax version" of " John, I'm Only Dancing" as the closing track. The composer's ...

" as the B-side. According to Doggett, Bowie was not satisfied with creating an enduring "dance-floor anthem", so he recorded a new mix in New York in April 1974, which Doggett calls a "Latin dub mix" that was over two decades ahead of its time. The US mix is shorter (2:58) and more uptempo, dense and

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

than the UK single, featuring "sine waves" of percussion by Geoff MacCormack, an original backing vocal line that is preceded by a "rush of backward echo", acoustic guitar and a new arrangement that buries the signature riff beneath phasing. According to Pegg, the US mix begins at the first "hot tramp" lyric at the 1:20 mark in the original UK mix. Within a couple of months, it was withdrawn and replaced by the UK single version, but the same arrangement was used on Bowie's

Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album '' Diamond Dogs'' (1974). The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-style stage show format with mult ...

, appearing on its concert album ''

David Live ''David Live'' is the first official live album by English musician David Bowie, originally released through RCA Records in 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the Tower Theater ...

''.

Reception

The song has received critical acclaim for its guitar riff and strength as a glam anthem, being described as a fitting farewell to Bowie's glam era. Marc Spitz praised the song in the biography '' Bowie: A Biography'', calling the riff "magnificent" and Bowie's "last great glitter anthem". He also described the song as Bowie's most "pure and lasting rocker" when mentioning the artist's early 2000s re-recorded version for his 2003 album ''

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

''. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that this was "Bowie's best single ever," describing it as a "strong rocker with incredible hooks throughout." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, in his review of ''Diamond Dogs'', called the song "tight" and "sexy" and one of Bowie's best, although he felt the song did not contribute to the overall theme of the album. Dave Thompson, also of AllMusic, described "Rebel Rebel" as one of Bowie's most "playful" numbers and considered it a fitting farewell to the artist's glam rock era and, in a way, to "the entire glam movement which Bowie created", as well as indicating the direction his career was taking. Barry Walters of ''Pitchfork'', in a review of ''Diamond Dogs'' following Bowie's death, praised the song's "glorious" guitar riff, its "stomping beat", the "hot tramp" lyric pause between both and their "return". Walters continued, "If Bowie often drifted above listeners' heads, here he shoots straight at their solar plexus and scores with what ranks among the greatest, most insistent riffs of the '70s. Rockers who'd dismissed Bowie as a dandy now gave the dude a pass." Journalist C. M. Crockford of punknews.org called "Rebel Rebel"'s guitar riff the best Bowie ever wrote, and a fitting end to his glam rock era. Following Bowie's death in 2016, ''Rolling Stone'' listed "Rebel Rebel" as one of his 30 essential songs. Spencer Kaufman of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' ranked the song at number seven on his list of Bowie's 10 greatest songs, praising its guitar riff – "one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock history" – and as a glam rock anthem, writing, "the tune serves as the perfect bridge between the Rolling Stones and punk rock." In 2018, the writers of ''NME'' listed "Rebel Rebel" as Bowie's fifth greatest song. They praised the "heaven-sent" riff and also believed it to be reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Jon Savage of ''The Guardian'', in his list of the 20 best glam-rock songs of all time, ranked the US version of the single at number 18.

Live performances

On 14 February 1974, Bowie recorded a lip synced performance of "Rebel Rebel" at Hilversum's Avro Studio 2 for the Dutch television programme ''Top Pop''. Broadcast two days later, it featured Bowie superimposed over flashing disco lights "by the miracle of chromakey" and donning what Pegg called his short-lived "pirate image" – a spotted neckerchief and a black eye-patch. Bowie later recalled: Following the performance, the pirate look, along with the Ziggy Stardust hairstyle, was ditched in favour of the "swept-back parting and double-breasted suits" of the

. The ''Top Pop'' clip later became the song's semi-official video. The song was a standard of Bowie's concerts from the Diamond Dogs Tour to the

Sound+Vision Tour In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

. For his performance at

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

in 1985, Bowie performed a saxophone-heavy version. After retiring the song on his Sound+Vision Tour in 1990, Bowie restored "Rebel Rebel" for the "Hours..." Tour. In early 2003, he recorded a new version, featuring an arrangement by

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, ...

without the original's reference to

quaaludes Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...

. This was issued on a bonus disc that came with some versions of ''

'' the same year and on the 30th Anniversary Edition of ''Diamond Dogs'' in 2004. In 2004 the track was blended in a mash-up with the ''Reality'' song " Never Get Old"; the result was issued as the single " Rebel Never Gets Old". "We love David Bowie", commented

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

front-man

Perry Farrell Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as part (one of the ...

in 2001. "Given the length of his career, I'm stunned that he still pushes things musically. But, please, please, David, can you sing 'Rebel Rebel' still?" Live versions of the song by Bowie have been released on ''

'' (1974), ''

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the ''Reality'' album. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealan ...

'' (recorded 2003), ''

Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74) ''Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'' is a live album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released posthumously as a Record Store Day release on 22 April 2017 through Parlophone record label. Produced by Bowie and mixed by Tony V ...

'', ''

Live Nassau Coliseum '76 ''Live Nassau Coliseum '76'' is a live album by David Bowie recorded on 23 March 1976 during Bowie's Isolar Tour in support of the album ''Station to Station''. The recording was first released in September 2010, as part of special and deluxe e ...

'', ''

Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) ''Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)'' is a live album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie recorded on the Isolar II Tour. It had a limited vinyl release on 21 April 2018 for Record Store Day. A more widely available CD edition foll ...

'', ''

Glastonbury 2000 ''Glastonbury 2000'' is a live album by English musician David Bowie. It was recorded during his Sunday night headline slot at the Glastonbury Festival on 25 June 2000. The album marks the first time the full video and audio of the performance a ...

'', ''Serious Moonlight (Live '83)'' and '' Glass Spider (Live Montreal '87)'' which were both part of the box set ''

Loving the Alien (1983–1988) ''Loving the Alien (1983–1988)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 12 October 2018. A follow-up to the compilations ''Five Years (1969–1973)'', ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', and ''A New Career in a ...

'', '' I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)'', and on ''

Glass Spider ''Glass Spider'' is a concert film by English singer David Bowie. The release was sourced from eight shows during the first two weeks of November 1987 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia during the last month of the Glass Spider Tour ...

'' (1988) (video-only release).

Legacy

"Rebel Rebel" has appeared on several compilation albums, the first being ''

ChangesOneBowie ''Changesonebowie'' is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie, issued through RCA Records in 1976. It collected songs from the 1969–1976 period, including the first LP appearance of " John, I'm Only Dancing". A " sax version" of t ...

'' in 1976. It was also remastered in 2016, along with the entire ''Diamond Dogs'' album, as part of the ''

'' box set. The rare US single version was included on the 1989 '' Sound + Vision'' box set, on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of ''Diamond Dogs'' in 2004, and on ''Re:Call 2''. The song's original UK single mix appeared on CD in 2016 on ''Re:Call 2''; however, it was sourced not from the original analog tape, but rather from a pristine 7-inch single, as the tape was thought to be lost. The original single mix was released again on 24 May 2019 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the ''

'' album, this time sourced from the original tape, which had been recovered since the release of ''Who Can I Be Now?'' The track is cited by Nicholas Pegg as Bowie's most-covered track. A cover version by Dead or Alive was released as a single in 1994, under the name International Crysis, and peaked at number 76 on the UK Singles Chart.

Track listing

All songs written by David Bowie. #"Rebel Rebel" – 4:20 #"

" – 3:13 The U.S. version of the single, also released in Canada and Mexico, had "

" as the B-side.

Personnel

According to Kevin Cann: *

– vocals, lead guitar, producer *

– rhythm guitar *

– bass *

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Broo ...

– piano *

Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick R ...

– drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications (David Bowie version)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rebel Rebel 1974 singles 1974 songs David Bowie songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by David Bowie RCA Records singles Protopunk songs Shaun Cassidy songs LGBT-related songs Dead or Alive (band) songs 1994 singles Transgender-related music